The strays, thought to be former guard dogs, are said to scavenge for food at a tip on the outskirts of Yekaterinburg city.

"I go past those dogs every day," Alexei Bukharovsky said. "They are usually reddish... but then I saw, running along the white snow, an almost completely emerald dog."

A police spokesman told local news service RIA Novosti that it is thought to be the result of illegal tipping."Either local residents or a factory have been dumping some kind of chemical waste there," the spokesman said.

The council has been asked to clean up the site.

"The council has been asked to clean up the site". Haha, that's great cause it's not gonna happen. You can't just ask councils to do things, you have to strong arm/threaten/blackmail them to do things. *waving laser blaster* Isn't that right, city council? I want those potholes in front of my house patched before noon. Also -- a handicapped parking pass, make it happen.